Executive Order 10902 Constitutional Friction / Overreach (-0.19)

Executive Order 10902—Providing for the Issuance of Emergency Preparedness Orders by the Director of the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization

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Monday, January 9, 1961

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2 min read (309 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on 1961-01-09, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Providing for the Issuance of Emergency Preparedness Orders by the Director of the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ 1799), the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (50 U.S.C.

▪ 10773 of July 1, 1958, as amended by Executive Order No.

▪ The head of each department and agency assigned civil-defense and defense-mobilization functions by the Director of the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization in consonance with the provisions of section 1 of this order shall develop the plans and programs there referred to under the policy direction and central program control of the Director of the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization.

▪ Nothing in this order or in the National Plan for Civil Defense and Defense Mobilization shall be construed as conferring authority to put into effect any plan, procedure, policy, program, or other course of action prepared or developed pursuant to this order or the National Plan.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

Total Words

309

1,897 characters

Estimated Read Time

2 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

15.6

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

-0.19

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 10902, Dwight D. Eisenhower (Jan 9, 1961). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10902-providing-for-the-issuance-emergency-preparedness-orders-the.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958 (72 Stat. 1799), the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (50 U.S.C. App. 2061 et seq.), and section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. In connection with carrying out the functions delegated or otherwise assigned to him by the provisions of Executive Order No. 10773 of July 1, 1958, as amended by Executive Order No. 10782 of September 6, 1958, or by the provisions of other orders thereby amended, the Director of the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization shall establish a series of civil-defense and defense-mobilization planning assignments which (1) shall be known as "Emergency Preparedness Orders," (2) shall, so far as practicable, be of uniform character, and (3) shall be designed to provide for the development of civil-defense and defense-mobilization plans and programs by the several departments and agencies of the executive branch of the Government to meet all conditions of national emergency, including attack upon the United States. SEC. 2. The head of each department and agency assigned civil-defense and defense-mobilization functions by the Director of the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization in consonance with the provisions of section 1 of this order shall develop the plans and programs there referred to under the policy direction and central program control of the Director of the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization. SEC. 3. Nothing in this order or in the National Plan for Civil Defense and Defense Mobilization shall be construed as conferring authority to put into effect any plan, procedure, policy, program, or other course of action prepared or developed pursuant to this order or the National Plan. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER THE WHITE HOUSE, January 9, 1961.